280. Everclear (pictured) — “Wonderful” — It’s nostalgic (the ‘Star Wars’ poster on Art Alexakis’ bedroom door) and upbeat at first glance, but it soon becomes clear that it’s sarcastic and negative.
279. The Ramones — “I Wanna Be Sedated” — I thought about using The Offspring’s cover from the “Idle Hands” soundtrack, but then realized that would be ridiculous because it merely mimics the excellent original.
278. Oleander — “I Walk Alone” — Out of the batch of heavy-ish rock bands from the late ’90s, I always connected most with this Sacramento outfit because of its pop sensibility and Tom Flowers’ distinctive voice.
277. Bruce Springsteen — “Darlington County” — It might have the most quotable lyrics of the “Born in the USA” tracks. For example: “Our pas each own one of the World Trade Centers/ For a kiss and a smile I’d give mine all to you.” And later: “I see Wayne handcuffed to the bumper of a state trooper’s Ford.”
276. Marvelous 3 — “This Time” — Butch Walker’s roommate wears dirty sweatpants and drinks all his booze, but Butch is ready to put his foot down about that and other issues in his life: “This time will be the last time …”
275. Kings of Leon — “Use Somebody” — Lead singer Anthony Followill has a gift for communicating his feelings entirely through the inflection of his voice. The lyrics fit, but they are almost superfluous.
274. Regina Spektor — “Fidelity” — Regina is generally a bit too quirky for my tastes, but her breakthrough tune has the right mix of hookiness to go with the quirkiness.
273. Beach Boys — “Feel Flows” — Not many songs sounded like this when it came out. It influenced a lot of future pop-rockers, and it also stands the test of time.
272. Avril Lavigne — “Girlfriend” — Just a straightforward pop tune that communicates a common feeling: Wanting what you can’t have and imagining what it would be like to do something about it.
271. The Beatles — “I Want to Hold Your Hand” — No, this isn’t a song that I go out of my way to listen to. However, when I consider that none of the other 299 songs on this list would exist without it, I figured I had better give it a nod.
Comments
good choice with the ramones.
although regspek and the beatles are top 10 all time for me…
i’m not big on either of those tracks 🙁
that being said, i appreciate your commentary for 271!# Posted By chance | 7/5/10 2:49 PM
Indeed, the “Hold Your Hand” selection is more for what the song means to everyone who likes pop music, rather than for the song itself. Plus, I love how they used it in “American Dreams.” It seems like when that song came out, everyone realized music was changed forever.
“Fidelity” is a cute song. That’s how I know you are a huge Regina fan; you dismiss her most famous song in favor of the deeper album tracks.# Posted By John Hansen | 7/5/10 5:59 PM
I have to admit I’ve listened to that Everclear record a million times. There are a few clunkers on it like an unecessary cover of Brown Eyed Girl but its a really solid break-up disc. You should check out the song Learning How to Smile. Art used to write some really good songs. Too bad he’s a huge douche. Good call on Regina even if it isnt her best song. Love, love, love the Beach Boys and Feel Flows is a great song. Cameron Crowe made good use of that in Almost Famous. They’re mostly lauded for the Pet Sound album which is brilliant but they recorded a few great ones after that when they all grew their hair
out and took a lot of drugs. Feel Flows is on Surfs Up which is a pretty dark album. You can buy it together with the Sunflower album now which is excellent as well# Posted By Matt | 7/11/10 12:37 PM
I am not a fan of the “Songs from an American Movie” volumes. Compared to “So Much for the Afterglow,” I find them hard to listen to. Indeed, no one understands Art’s obsession with covering “Brown Eyed Girl” all the time. It’s not like that song had to be rescued from obscurity. I’ve been told by multiple sources that Regina has better tunes than “Fidelity”; I just haven’t heard ’em myself. “Feel Flows” is totally on here because of it’s use in “Almost Famous.” I might have another song coming up on my list that was also put to good use in that movie; you can probably guess what it is. And I might have more Beach Boys coming up as well. We shall see.# Posted By John Hansen | 7/11/10 2:16 PM
I still really like the first Songs from an American Movie, but Sparkle and Fade is still my favorite Everclear disc. And as much as I love Van Morrisson, Brown Eyed Girl needs to die. That guy wrote some of the best songs ever and all oldies radio and bad wedding DJ’s can find to play is that song? Is your other Almost Famous song American? Or Tiny Dancer? Those are the ones that stick out to me# Posted By Matt | 7/11/10 4:16 PM
I’ve heard from multiple people that there are other good Van Morrison songs. I will have to look for them someday. What will the other “Almost Famous” song be? Well, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?# Posted By John Hansen | 7/12/10 2:13 AM